If the Season Ended Today

[PhoSita]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

I think there are times when a team may not have the talent to win it all, but making the playoffs is definitely a good thing.

Teams like the Kings, Wizards, Cavs -- they've spent years in the lottery and have collected some significant talent. 

Now is the time for those teams to finally get some experience and start to figure out how to win together.  Those teams are all probably one or two pieces away, but they've got some good core pieces.

If you have a young team with a star prospect or two, I think it's good to make the playoffs as long as you don't compromise salary flexibility in the future in order to do so.  Because though your team might be a 7th or 8th seed, one free agent addition like Boozer or David West could be enough to vault into the upper echelon, as was the case for the Bulls and Pacers.

[Celtics18]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

I disagree.  If that were the case, there are probably about a dozen teams who will make the playoffs this year--and all other years, for that matter--who would be better served tanking.  I don't subscribe to that theory.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that every year should be about maximizing the talent that you have, which means winning as many games as you can. 

To me, that's fairly black and white. 

[BballTim]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

  I think that few if any teams in the history of the league would agree with that sentiment.

[Celtics18]

Your are essentially saying that you do want this season to be about avoiding embarrassment in the playoffs.  You are just wording it a little differently. 

I want the players and coaches to always strive to do as well as they can.  The only caveat is that I think player development should be a higher concern than winning games this season, which is why I'm okay with Brad Stevens experimenting with lineups and giving younger guys more run than they might otherwise get, within reason.

What I want the end result to be, and what I expect management wants as well, is different.  This team needs more talent, and this draft is a great opportunity to add talent.

As long as there's any advantage to picking in the lottery versus not picking in the lottery, I'd rather pick in the lottery, because I don't believe this team is good enough to be competitive in the playoffs.

That last part is where we differ most, I guess.

Given the roster that we have, I don't see Stevens playing any young guys more minutes than they should be getting.  I think the only place where you could reasonable suggest that is happening is with Olynyk getting more minutes than Hump.  However, with Kris playing well lately, he has moved ahead of Olynyk in the rotation. 

Now of course we are seeing threads speculating that the reason Hump's getting good minutes is because he's getting "showcased."  Everything Stevens tries as a coach is going to get second guessed as some part of a master plan beyond going out and trying to coach his team to try to win ball games.  The latter is want I'm convinced he's been doing all season long (call me a naive rube, if you'd like), and it's what I want to continue to see the team doing. 

The draft is a great opportunity to add talent.  That's true even if you end up picking outside the top fourteen. 

[LooseCannon]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

[Moranis]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

[BballTim]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

  Trades.

[PhoSita]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

  Trades.

Not clear on how the playoffs help the team make trades.

Though I'm pretty sure that a lottery pick would facilitate trades more than making the playoffs, in any case.

[LooseCannon]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

The Celtics can theoretically use draft picks to make salary dumps to create the space to sign a free agent the way Golden State did so they could sign Iguodala if Denver didn't agree to a sign-and-trade.  While I am not a fan of the idea of trying to sign Carmelo Anthony, if you wanted to do so, I'd argue that making the playoffs this season would greatly enhance your chances of doing so if he were willing to leave New York.

[SHAQATTACK]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

I

Teams like the Kings, Wizards, Cavs -- they've spent years in the lottery and have collected some significant talent. 

And the end result is nearly always he same ....








And it is all for naught ....




All these players ....Anthony Davis ,   Kevin love ,  Irving ,  Clay Thompson ,  etc...

Will be Lakers one day...

[LarBrd33]

My two cents... I do believe it's black and white.  It's veering into delusion.  Bottom line:  This team sucks.

Let it sink in. 

This team is garbage.  The current collection of talent on this team is horrible.  We are the 5th worst team in the league.   We've dropped 7 in a row.  We are incapable of beating a good team on a normal night.

This is what we were told to expect.  This roster is crap. 

Adding Rondo should improve them... but at the end of the day they will still be a below-average team.  Easily one of the 10 worst teams in the league even WITH Rondo.

Problem is, being one of the 10 worst teams in a league of 30 teams could get you into the playoffs this year.   

Bottom line:  Our team will be better next year if we add a Top 5 pick vs if our team makes the playoffs.  I don't think there's any scenario where making the playoffs as the 10th worst team (#15 pick) makes us better next year vs adding NBA gold to our below-average roster.

The only argument to the contrary I've heard is that somehow the "good vibes" of making the playoffs will develop some kind of winning culture.  That thinking is delusional.  The absolute BEST-CASE scenario is making the playoffs this year, upsetting Indiana in Round 1 and having a hard-fought 2nd round matchup.  That's the path Philly took two years ago when they upset Rose-less Chicago and gave Boston a 7 game series.  It did nothing for their future... the next year they were out of the playoffs.  This year they are garbage.  And THAT team was above .500 at the time of their little miracle.   We're talking about making the playoffs with 33 wins right now... there's no point to it.  It's a fool's errand.

In defense of BballTim and Celtics18, I think those two guys don't actually subscribe to this line of thinking.  I'm of the assumption they believe Superstar Rondo is going to get added to this collection of junk and we'll go 38-4 over the remaining part of the season.  In which case, they think we have a shot at a championship.   All I can say to that is... I feel like they are setting themselves up for some harsh disappointment.

[BballTim]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

  Trades.

Not clear on how the playoffs help the team make trades.

Though I'm pretty sure that a lottery pick would facilitate trades more than making the playoffs, in any case.

  For starters, players would probably be more willing to go to/stay in Boston if the team was fairly good as opposed to being bottom feeders.

[LarBrd33]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

Here is one obvious scenario where you are wrong.

If you are a player or two away from having the talent to be a legitimate championship contender and you will have a good opportunity to add those players through free agency, then you should want to make the playoffs because winning is more important than things such as location when it comes to attracting quality free agents.

all true, but Boston doesn't have the cap space to add legit talent so what is the point in the playoffs this year for this team.

  Trades.

Not clear on how the playoffs help the team make trades.

Though I'm pretty sure that a lottery pick would facilitate trades more than making the playoffs, in any case.

  For starters, players would probably be more willing to go to/stay in Boston if the team was fairly good as opposed to being bottom feeders.

Nah.  It's not like a bunch of stars wanted to go to Philly after they upset Rose-less Chicago.

But if you land NBA Gold in the Top 5, you either add a player who CAN attract talent down the road... or you use the pick to trade for all-star talent... which can attract talent down the road.

Simply making the playoffs as the 10th worst team in the league isn't doing much.

[PhoSita]

  For starters, players would probably be more willing to go to/stay in Boston if the team was fairly good as opposed to being bottom feeders.

Eh, I think players care more about the talent on the team and the reputation of the coaching staff / management than how many games the team won the year before.  Guys will want to play for Brad Stevens and with Rondo / Sullinger whether or not the Celtics stumble into the playoffs with 30-35 wins.

If the Celtics get highly touted player in this draft, I think that would attract people here, too.

[BballTim]

The only argument to the contrary I've heard is that somehow the "good vibes" of making the playoffs will develop some kind of winning culture.  That thinking is delusional.  The absolute BEST-CASE scenario is making the playoffs this year, upsetting Indiana in Round 1 and having a hard-fought 2nd round matchup.  That's the path Philly took two years ago when they upset Rose-less Chicago and gave Boston a 7 game series.  It did nothing for their future... the next year they were out of the playoffs.  This year they are garbage.  And THAT team was above .500 at the time of their little miracle.   We're talking about making the playoffs with 33 wins right now... there's no point to it.  It's a fool's errand.

  One would assume that there are lower seeded teams that made the playoffs and ended up better in the next few years that you're unaware of, what happened to Philly isn't the only outcome. Also, someone had a post within the last week or so about how few of the teams that end up with high draft picks win titles. Getting to the playoffs or getting to the lottery are both "fool's errands", you just don't realize that.

In defense of BballTim and Celtics18, I think those two guys don't actually subscribe to this line of thinking.  I'm of the assumption they believe Superstar Rondo is going to get added to this collection of junk and we'll go 38-4 over the remaining part of the season.  In which case, they think we have a shot at a championship.   All I can say to that is... I feel like they are setting themselves up for some harsh disappointment.

  Even if I did believe that it would be only slightly more far-fetched than your predictions for the Nets (still waiting for that 15 game win streak) or last year's title contending Lakers team. I'd assume that your wildly exaggerating anything I might have said was just an attempt to make it look more ridiculous than your actual claims.